Lessons In Leadership

Leadership raises several issues and paradoxes.

A choice between embracing values or expediency; between taking people along or making unilateral decisions, between concern for survival and growth but also for the well being or one’s own voice or listening to the voice of one’s people; between business adventurism or ethical leadership. In reality, leaders do not have the luxury of such a neat either or.

The reality is often gray. But the bedrock of that reality is ethical conduct. Loosing touch with this reality has severe consequences.

The fundamental issue confronting us is business ethics. Ethics are universal human values contained across religions and cultures. It is as much contained in the ancient Indian scriptures as it is in Christianity or the verses of the Koran. No parent teaches her child unethical conduct. But as Thomas Donaldson of Wharton School points of ‘… countries sometimes have trouble adapting their traditional moral practices to the requirements of modern market capitalism. In successful capitalism, friendship must take a somewhat lower priority in the rational for business transactions than price and quality…. Leaders must carry moral authority. Without moral authority leadership is blind. Surveys of business people around the world show that they rank characteristics such as integrity at the top of the list of essential elements for leadership.”

Every action and word of the leader is watched. Followers pay attention even to the most off-hand remarks. The scrutiny is never ending. Effective leaders are mindful of what they say and do. Leadership is also about being sensitive to the concerns and needs of the followers.

People don’t mind working long hours provided they feel like they matter and are cared for.

Much is talked about employee engagement in organizations. This has a few dimensions. First, people work for people. As Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffiman point out’….people leave managers not companies ………If you have a turnover problem look first to your managers’.

Secondly, people often remain engaged because of culture as evidenced from the often repeated ‘it’s a nice place to work.’ Or as a colleague of mine leaving the organization I worked for remarked ”This place is like hotel California. You can check out anytime but never leave.” Such is the power of cultures and leaders have a significant role in creating, maintaining and changing cultures.

Thirdly, is the concept of leisure and work life balance. People today are willing to chuck well-paid jobs to do work that gives them more time with their families. Finally, employees are increasingly emphasizing the need of convergence between their and the organization’s values. Leaders need to consciously work on these areas

Another issue encountered by leaders in ‘escalation of commitment’. Having once decided on a course of action they commit more and more to it, as retraction is seen as a sign of weakness and losing face. People get hooked on to their ideas and products refusing to budge even in the face of mounting evidence that their ideas are not working. Sound leadership is about being open to suggestions from others and letting go, if the situation so demands rather than personalizing things.

Finally, leadership is about listening to your people. As Warren Bennis points out “One of the greatest challenges a leader faces… is not simply allowing people to speak the truth but actually being able to hear it”.

People do not work for money alone. Values and culture, dignity and self-respect, meaningfulness of work, recognition and acknowledgement are equally if not more important. It focuses on the fact that business cannot be done at any cost without exorbitant costs being incurred in return. Organizations are not about changing people’s values in order to do business. They are about making explicit their values, (which is another task of leaders) hiring for these values and aligning the business around values. We need to hold on to these values and advocate for the benefit of the employee community. Ethics and values do not change with people and countries. They are universal. You can have a choice or preference. This is the basics and foundation for life.